AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Oil doesn’t dissolve in water, i.e., it is immiscible in water. This is because its molecules are non-polar while water is a polar solvent. Non-polar substances do not dissolve in polar solvents and vice-versa.

Detailed explanation-2: -Because oil is less dense than water, it will always float on top of water, creating a surface layer of oil. You might have seen this on streets after a heavy rain-some water puddles will have a coating of oil floating on them. In this activity we will test the power of surfactants to help us mix oil and water.

Detailed explanation-3: -A mixture of oil and water is called an emulsion.

Detailed explanation-4: -The structure of an oil molecule is non polar. Its charge is evenly balanced rather than having one positive and one negative end. This means oil molecules are more attracted to other oil molecules than water molecules, and water molecules are more attracted to each other than oil, so the two never mix.